Looking back at Ross being made 'untouchable'

When Rudy Gay was traded here for Ed Davis and Calderon reports surfaced that they wanted Ross but he was listed as 'untouchable' by BC. Would you rather BC have kept Davis and traded Ross or are you happy with keeping Ross and letting Davis go?

I think I would have rather kept Davis, he really fit in the culture we are trying to develop and having him here as the back up big would have been good. I also think we could have gotten a good return on Ross, maybe gottn an extra pick or something. That said, if we hadn't traded Bargnani, there wouldn't have been room for Davis and we also probably wouldn't have gone after Hasborough, who I really like. So I guess it's kind of a toss up.

"When Life gives you lemons, you clone those Lemons to make super lemons!"
-Scudworth

Frankly it's a toss-up for me. However, there is no way that BC would have traded Ross at the time. It would have been a classic sign for him that the pick was a fail and a bad signal to send out re his drafting skills. Again while I am not thrilled at either the pick or his progress so far it's too early to make a determination on Ross....his shooting form (not his compl.% !) is too classic to ignore as well as his athleticism.

Too much hindsight here. I'm pissed we traded away McGrady before he broke out and last year there was too much uncertaintny on TRoss's ceiling. I'm not saying he would replicate Mcgrady but who knows.

That said, if I could it again I would have kept Davis. BUT what I would have preferred BC to do is stand pat and not make the trade unless a bad contract like Fields is sent back for Gay's difficult contract.

I liked Davis and hope he gets a chance to play more next year. But ultimately, his skillset is replaceable during any offseason. Hansbrough is only a slight downgrade on Davis, and any of a number of other free agents would have fit more or less the same role. His only above-average skill is rebounding, and I don't see that changing. Defense and 3-point shooting is a far more rare and valuable skillset combination, and so making Ross untouchable is a gamble I liked at the time and still like despite summer league.

At the time, the trade was made, the front-court depth was incredibly thin - obviously now it's not a problem with an improved Acy, signed Hansbrough - but Davis has good potential, and made great strides to be a player worth trading a guy like Rudy Gay for.

I think had we kept Davis, the youth would stay at a level Ujiri wants, and the front-court depth wouldn't have been a problem. Davis and Amir were interchangeable between the 4 & 5, and played very well with one another. Negatives of keeping Davis is the fact he will warrant an extension, near $6-$7 million, and or Ross might - I say might with hesitance - become a really good player.

After the draft last year, Colangelo and Casey said that the reason they took Ross over Rivers is because of his 3pt shooting.
Well, they didn't really use Ross as a 3pt shooter last season. And at this year's Summer League they used him as an iso player. Problem is, he's NOT a 1 on 1 player. Never was. And you can see it because he struggled big time at this year's Summer League.

So can someone pls explain to me what the fuck the Raptors are doing here w/ Ross? because if they want an iso guy then they should've just drafted Rivers or Lamb. But instead they went and get a 3pt shooter but they're not really using him as a 3pt shooter.

It's a toss up for me as well. I still see Ed Davis as a fairly limited big man whose skill was already being duplicated by another player.

I think the "reasoning" behind Ross being untouchable was more based on a principle than anything. Most general managers don't like trading away a guy they just drafted a few months ago unless there is a very good reason to do so. Especially not a lottery pick, where you are kind of showing weakness like admitting you were wrong. It's that sort of silly egotistical thing in which Colangelo had been a victim of throughout his tenure as the Raptors GM.

I hated to see Davis go. I really, really did. I thought he played great when he started getting minutes after Bargs injury. It was clear the Raps were better with him on the floor than with Bargs, granted that's not saying much. Hard worker, played strong D and had decent moves in the paint, never tried to do to much and let the game come to him. I hope he gets a good shot to improve his game. I'm not sure what his ceiling is, but I bet it's higher than most think. I'm still up in the air on Ross, but right now I'd rather have Davis. I'd certainly rather have Davis on the floor than Hans.

People have short memories in a couple of regards.
1) Davis was on the scrap heap before last year (ie after 2 NBA seasons) .. he had a strong start to the season (mostly because we had no one else on the team and he was forced into action .. but before that his trajectory looked much worse than Ross's does even now
2) He couldnt even crack the lineup in Memphis! Of course I wouldnt expect him to start or see minutes anywhere near MG/ZR ... but to not even play at all! That has to say something ..
3) Ross has had one year (of very, very inconsistent minutes) and 3 or 4 summer league games .. lets see what he can do. People seem to forget that he actually did have some decent games and showed he can be our best player in transition, taking the ball to the hoop HARD (unlike DD). Before we got Gay, I was thrilled with Ross .. just not with his playing time

Bottom line ... I like Ed .. would love to have him back .. but lets call a spade a spade .. he still has not done much in this league .. and even with the ups and downs, Id take Ross's potential at this stage

People have short memories in a couple of regards.
1) Davis was on the scrap heap before last year (ie after 2 NBA seasons) .. he had a strong start to the season (mostly because we had no one else on the team and he was forced into action .. but before that his trajectory looked much worse than Ross's does even now
2) He couldnt even crack the lineup in Memphis! Of course I wouldnt expect him to start or see minutes anywhere near MG/ZR ... but to not even play at all! That has to say something ..
3) Ross has had one year (of very, very inconsistent minutes) and 3 or 4 summer league games .. lets see what he can do. People seem to forget that he actually did have some decent games and showed he can be our best player in transition, taking the ball to the hoop HARD (unlike DD). Before we got Gay, I was thrilled with Ross .. just not with his playing time

Bottom line ... I like Ed .. would love to have him back .. but lets call a spade a spade .. he still has not done much in this league .. and even with the ups and downs, Id take Ross's potential at this stage

People have short memories in a couple of regards.
1) Davis was on the scrap heap before last year (ie after 2 NBA seasons) .. he had a strong start to the season (mostly because we had no one else on the team and he was forced into action .. but before that his trajectory looked much worse than Ross's does even now
2) He couldnt even crack the lineup in Memphis! Of course I wouldnt expect him to start or see minutes anywhere near MG/ZR ... but to not even play at all! That has to say something ..
3) Ross has had one year (of very, very inconsistent minutes) and 3 or 4 summer league games .. lets see what he can do. People seem to forget that he actually did have some decent games and showed he can be our best player in transition, taking the ball to the hoop HARD (unlike DD). Before we got Gay, I was thrilled with Ross .. just not with his playing time

Bottom line ... I like Ed .. would love to have him back .. but lets call a spade a spade .. he still has not done much in this league .. and even with the ups and downs, Id take Ross's potential at this stage

I personally have no issues with Ed being traded (just wasn't a fan of the specific trade itself for reasons not withstanding the players themselves) and still think Ross should have more time (opportunity) to show if he can compete or not. But I think its worth noting:

- Ed had a good rookie season, followed by a slight drop in his 2nd year, and a rebound in his 3rd year. But each year he was solid. I think its worth adding that starting in Ed's 2nd year 'Hell or highwater' began (well perhaps ramped up is a better description) which didn't really end until the following year when Casey realized the man in charge was steering a sinking ship. Once Ed got more opportunity to play he played well.

- there is plenty of talk that one of the reasons Memphis was quick to replace Hollins this year was they were upset about Ed not getting minutes (along with Hollins adverse stance towards statistical metrics in general). Statistically speaking his time in Memphis has been the best of his career. Mind you the sample is quite small so take it with a grain of salt

All that said, I'd prefer a Val - Amir - Acy rotation going forward to any 3 big man rotation this Raptor's team has had in a very long time